Excercise Two.sean Feeney Draft

the Córdoba Bus Station, a multitude of memories of my first journeys came to mind. Old memories that, in turn, fused with more recent memories about the Mosque and the courtyards of Córdoba, in the awning clad streets of Andalusia, with their space, with their light and their flowers, with the sound of water in the courtyards of the Alhambra, in the gardens of the Generalife and in the Alcazar...”

Estación Central de Autobuses Córdoba

César Portela 1999

Above View of the bus shelter

The Córdoba Bus Station is a work of great urban importance to the new part of the city. It is a large work measuring 105 metres wide and it functions as a public space of the city. This building reconciles the new part of the city with the historical centre and Córdoba’s older, more emblemtaic buildings. Portela talks about this and his memories of Córdoba: “When I was given the commission of

Views of the surrounding mountain ranges of Córdoba can be seen from the station, creating a relationship with them. A thick nine metre high granite wall encloses the life of the Bus Station from its surroundings. Inside, is a courtyard with a semicircular bus shelter which is supported by numerous columns. They appear almost playful due to the amount of them, all exactly the same, but somehow different as light hits them at different angles.

Above Left The thick granite wall Above Main entrance Left Aerial View

César Portela studied architecture at Escola Tècnica Superior d’Arquitectura de Barcelona. He moved to Madrid after his graduation in 1966, and in 1968 he earned his doctorate at the Madrid school of architecture. Awarded the Spanish National Architecture Award in 1999 for this Bus Station, César Portela has been awarded honours by numerous national and international institutions. He also has a busy teaching career, and now holds the professorship of Architectural Design at E.T.S. in La Coruña.

Exercise Two Seán Feeney